More efficient empty container handler
The Turkish Container Terminal (TCEEGE), operated by Grup Marítim TCB, continues its strategic plan for technological innovation by adding an ECH(empty container handler) to its equipment, increasing the speed, safety and environmental sustainability as compared to the reach stackers used until now. Furthermore, the company has begun to extend part of the Terminal close to the dock, which will improve the efficiency of the ships’ loading and unloading operations. When the construction is finished, at the end of June, this area will be 21,000m2 larger than it is now; reaching 36,360m2 in size.
The ECH purchased by TCEEGE is designed to lift a total of nine tonnes and stack empty containers up to seven stories high. The brand is TEREX and it has a latest generation motor made by Volvo Penta, designed with the latest advances regarding fuel consumption control and atmospheric emissions.
Speed is another of the equipment’s strengths. The truck moves at 28 km/hr when empty and 26 km/h when loaded and it can raise and lower the containers by half a metre per second.
According to Mehmet Bosna, General Manager of TCEEGE, “up until now we have been using reach stackers to handle empty containers, but, since they are machines for full containers, they were too slow and bulky. On the other hand, the ECH was specifically designed to improve the efficiency of the transport management of empty containers in the Terminal in a further step towards the operational excellence being pursued by Grup TCB”.
In addition, the empty container handler enhances the safety of both the operator and the goods; it has a ROPS/FOPS cabin located up high to improve the operator’s view, as well as ergonomic and comfortable controls and seats, noise dampening systems, air conditioning and Logicontrol Plus technology with an emergency prevention mechanismand automatic stop to protect both the motor and the load.
The acquisition of the ECH is part of a constant updating process of the technological equipment of TCEEGE. In early 2013, the Turkish Terminal also started to operate with two new Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes with a special design of a double mobile gantry that allows Post Panamax ships to operate efficiently on both sides of the dock. The characteristics of the Grup TCB Terminal, with a 705-metre dock and a depth of 17 metres, allow it to accommodate the latest generation of ships.
Situated near Izmir, the third largest Turkish city, and in the most important export centre of the country, TCEEGE has an annual operating capacity of 400,000 TEUs. Its strategic location between Europe and Asia and its efficiency level attract important shipping companies.